Tony Stewart – Frontstretchhttps://frontstretch.com
Best seat at the track, best view on the web!Fri, 09 Dec 2016 21:38:21 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.1Friday Faceoff: What’s on NASCAR’s Horizon?https://frontstretch.com/2016/12/08/friday-faceoff-whats-on-nascars-horizon/
https://frontstretch.com/2016/12/08/friday-faceoff-whats-on-nascars-horizon/#commentsFri, 09 Dec 2016 03:48:56 +0000https://frontstretch.com/?p=128156NASCAR announced Monster Energy as the new entitlement sponsor in its premier series, replacing Sprint. Will Monster be a good fit for the series moving forward? Mark Howell, Senior Writer: Based on Monster’s (pardon the pun) track record in motorsports, the affiliation with NASCAR’s premier series will be a successful one. Based on sight of …

]]>NASCAR announced Monster Energy as the new entitlement sponsor in its premier series, replacing Sprint. Will Monster be a good fit for the series moving forward?

Mark Howell, Senior Writer: Based on Monster’s (pardon the pun) track record in motorsports, the affiliation with NASCAR’s premier series will be a successful one. Based on sight of the company’s logo around the college campus where I teach, the brand has a loyal following among millennials. Ken Block has been a good ice breaker for the connection with auto racing, and we recognize what the company has done with Supercross competition. Despite the age restriction on marketing energy drinks to consumers under the age of 12, Monster will take NASCAR in some necessary new directions. We experienced the same kind of age restriction back during the Winston era, yet the sport grew and welcomed all manner of new fans. Brighter days lie ahead.

Phil Allaway, Newsletter Editor: Getting Monster Energy as the title sponsor is pretty much a best-case scenario; you have a company that has a long history with motorsports and actively loves it. Having said that, there’s probably going to be some changes. Some are pretty obvious; for example, cell phone reception at many tracks is now likely to be completely up to the tracks themselves because Sprint isn’t going to be around to boost signals anymore. Also, the Miss Sprint Cup representatives that we’ve gotten familiar with will be gone; I’m pretty sure the company that hired and trained Miss Sprint Cups (and Miss Winstons before that) will not be retained in favor of Monster Energy girls similar to what you saw during the press conference announcing Monster Energy’s deal. I’m sure that will be a bit of a clash, communications-wise.

Dustin Albino, Staff Writer: As far as the fan aspect, Monster Energy will associate youth and millennials into the sport once again. I wouldn’t call Sprint’s sponsorship stale; I thought it was a great sponsor and marketing wise gave NASCAR a lot of money. However, in the last few years of sponsoring the Cup Series, a lot of things went away on behalf of Sprint — for instance, the Sprint Fan Zone was big at the track for years but was eliminated it to lower cost. Monster will do unique things, but according to some reports, it is only providing $20 million next year, down from Sprint’s deal of $50 million. Not great.

The checkered flag fell on the Sprint Era…but the Monster Era is just beginning. (Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

Amy Henderson, Senior Editor:As far as image, it’s a good enough fit, but I have some concerns as well. One, as Monster is a company that markets heavily to millennials, will we see even more gimmicks and manipulations in the sport to try and attract them? Nothing will alienate the remaining older fan base better than more things like the Chase and the caution clock. The top series, which has been identified as the Cup Series for more than 40 years, is likely already going to be completely (and unnecessarily, perhaps unwisely) rebranded. To me, the only other acceptable title would be Grand National, which also seems unlikely. I don’t like the loss of identity or the threat of even more silly manipulations, so I am definitely on the fence.

HScott Motorsports became the second team to announce that it will not return to NASCAR next season, along with Tommy Baldwin Racing. Will fans see fields under 40 next season, and is that a bad thing?

Frank Velat, Contributor: It is certainly possible, and I’d even say it’s likely to happen on more than one occasion. Perhaps it’s a matter of quality over quantity. Wouldn’t it be great if every team in the race had the realistic potential of finishing inside the top 15? However, there are drawbacks with this consolidation, the most obvious of which being jobs. Race teams can employ dozens of people, up to hundreds with bigger organizations. Every time a race team closes its doors, at least a few people go home not knowing where their next paycheck will come from.

Albino: There will be less than 40 cars, and NASCAR might fear that. From the team aspect, I understand why these teams are shutting down. Tommy Baldwin will remain part of the sport in some capacity, but Harry Scott shut everything down; that includes his K&N Pro Series East team, which has been a dominant force and a key cog in the sport’s development wheel. I didn’t think I would like the move from 43 to 40 cars in a race, but it turned out to be a decent decision. Anything under 40 is danger. Say it moves down to 38 teams; that is a five-car decrease, just over 10 percent gone in two years. Doesn’t sound good to me.

Henderson: It seems that smaller fields (not short fields, as they’re not considered a short field until there are under 36) will be a reality. By my count so far, the top series has lost four teams (Nos. 7, 15, 16 and 46) and gained two, maybe three (No. 77, new JTG Daugherty team, No. 33 team splits from No. 95). There are a couple other question marks as well. On one hand, anytime you lose a small team, it’s bad for the sport (kind of like a small, local business closing is bad for a town). But in terms of purely what fans see on Sundays, I don’t think it will be much different; it’s not like the broadcasts actually show most of those cars anyway. If it’s a case of quality over quantity, fans won’t see much difference.

Howell:It looks like a full field of 40 entries will be the exception to the rule in 2017. While it’s sad to see teams like TBR and HScott leave the sport, it’s an unfortunate aspect of NASCAR’s new business model. If there aren’t teams capable of joining the fray, we’ll certainly see fields shrink to 37 or 38 each week. Fewer cars mean less on-track competition, and that’s not always a bad development. How often do we acknowledge that there are 40 cars in any given race? Most audiences likely wouldn’t notice a decrease of two or three entries. Thinning the herd appears to be in NASCAR’s future. The sport will survive, even if some teams do not.

Silly Season has ramped up this postseason. Who’s made the best moves, who’s in trouble and what’s still left to go down?

Henderson: The best moves for the teams involved are probably Front Row Motorsports re-signing Landon Cassill, who’s super talented and who should be hugely popular on personality alone; Roush Fenway Racing scaling back for a year; and Germain Racing getting extra support from RCR in exchange for pawning Ty Dillon off on them (though it does make Casey Mears the only driver I can think of offhand who got dumped twice by the same team owner and once when he wasn’t even driving for him). Mears deserves better than the No. 33 car—I think he’d be a great fit as Cassill’s teammate at Front Row. That pair would be scary good on the plate tracks, and Mears is a good bit younger than Greg Biffle. I really hoped GEICO, which professed such confidence in its driver, had shown loyalty to him when it counted. As of now, there are more drivers than seats to fill, so someone’s going to be left out. Besides Mears and Biffle, Regan Smith, Matt DiBenedetto, David Ragan and Jeffrey Earnhardt are or could be looking. Based on their experience, I think Mears, Biffle, Smith and Ragan are better bets as all are winners at the top level. The young guys are talented, but unproven.

The list of drivers looking for rides for 2017 is long and talented. (Photo: Russell LaBounty/NKP)

Howell: I’m thrilled to see Cassill with a done deal for 2017. Signing him was a smart move for Front Row. While it’s sad to see Mears out of the No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet, perhaps Dillon will add a bit of new energy to the team. It was good to see Chris Buescher find a home at JTG as well. Not sure if there are bigger fish to fry in Buescher’s career, but JTG will give him a decent opportunity to further his learning curve.

Allaway: I don’t know if anyone’s made a good move here. I guess Germain made the best move business-wise by placing Dillon in the No. 13 because it means the team gets more support. Who’s in trouble? Biffle. You may have seen him on Twitter having fun in the desert with sand rails and making juvenile jokes at ice cream shops, but this is someone that could either sit out 2017 or be stuck racing for a team like Go FAS Racing. Best-case scenario puts Biffle in the No. 34 next season.

Velat: Buescher landing his new ride is the biggest upgrade; though he lucked into his first career win, he managed several solid runs in his rookie season, including a handful of top 20s. I’m not sold that Dillon in the No. 13 is the best move for him; he was in a good position in the RCR XFINITY ride, but it seems the allure of a top-level opportunity proved too tempting. Biffle and Mears are still on the market (as far as we know) but I don’t expect to see either former winner rideless for too long.

With 2016 in the rearview, what will go down as the most memorable storylines of the year, and what stories are looming large on the horizon for 2017?

Allaway: For 2016, the biggest storylines were the season-long search for a Sprint replacement (solved, finally) and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.‘s concussion issues that led him to sit out nearly half the season. Both those stories usurped Jimmie Johnson winning his seventh championship. As for 2017, the likely storylines involve how Monster Energy will roll out its sponsorship, the new rules package, Earnhardt’s return to the seat and Erik Jones as a rookie.

Velat: The obvious one is Johnson’s seventh title, but Tony Stewart finishing his Cup career with a final win was huge. Stewart hadn’t been close to victory very often over the previous two years; for him to get one more was phenomenal. Rookies also returned with a vengeance in 2016 after several years of lackluster performance. Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney proved capable of winning, and I expect both to do so next year. Jones will likely continue the upswing in freshman performance with his ride at Furniture Row. Lastly, what will we see from Stewart-Haas Racing after it starts piloting Fords in 2017? The only driver at SHR who has won in a Ford is Kurt Busch. It’ll be interesting to see what impact, if any, the switch will have.

Albino: Stewart retiring was the biggest storyline of 2016, though it didn’t get covered as much as Jeff Gordon’s farewell tour. Much of that was to Stewart’s grace as he didn’t want to have the sendoff that Gordon had a year prior. Johnson winning a title went overlooked again. The biggest storyline for 2017 is the return of Earnhardt and Johnson’s quest of being the G.O.A.T. But that’s likely to go under the radar as the other seven championships have.

Henderson: The biggest story is Johnson’s seventh title, but that said, it wasn’t what it would have been even under the old Chase format, and that was a bit disappointing. At the same time, other than his win total (and there are some who think the driver with the most wins in a season should be the champion, and there is some merit there), Johnson’s season as a whole wasn’t very special. That makes it a little hard to reconcile with that championship moment at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The racing was, in general, very good, there was a new winner (Kyle Larson), a team pulled a manufacturer change and a legend hung ‘em up. As for next year, things are looking good—there are some new rules that should make races more exciting, Earnhardt is back, and JJ (that’s Jimmie Johnson, not the J-less JJ Yeley) will be chasing history.

]]>https://frontstretch.com/2016/12/08/friday-faceoff-whats-on-nascars-horizon/feed/1Who’s Hot and Who’s Not: NASCAR Championship Editionhttps://frontstretch.com/2016/11/22/whos-hot-and-whos-not-nascar-championship-edition/
https://frontstretch.com/2016/11/22/whos-hot-and-whos-not-nascar-championship-edition/#commentsTue, 22 Nov 2016 05:52:16 +0000https://frontstretch.com/?p=127886The final race of the season ended with the kind of drama that NASCAR could only hope for when it devised the Chase system, and especially this current Chase system. There was no ceremonial ride around for 267 laps for the champion as there had been at times when the championship was all but won …

]]>The final race of the season ended with the kind of drama that NASCAR could only hope for when it devised the Chase system, and especially this current Chase system. There was no ceremonial ride around for 267 laps for the champion as there had been at times when the championship was all but won before the first lap was completed. So, like it or not, races like Sunday is why the Chase is here to stay.

HOT
It turned into a historic night when Jimmie Johnson won the race and his seventh title Sunday night. But if anything, the race was a microcosm of why Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus have won those seven titles together. Johnson’s car for almost all of the night was not a winning car in terms of speed. But the team made adjustments (some of them significant) throughout the race. Then when given the late-race break needed to have a chance, the car, and Johnson, too, were good enough to take advantage of it. It was a pure lesson on why to never give up. The No. 48 got a little better here and a little better there, and plugged away on progress throughout the race. Now, the team will have to find a way to plug another championship trophy into its trophy case.

NOT
You have to wonder if the new nickname for Carl Edwards will be “Hard Luck Carl”. That’s because for the second time in six years, he was on the verge of winning a championship, only to see his hopes dashed. It was in 2011 that he finished second to Tony Stewart, causing a tie in the points with Edwards, and Stewart winning on a tiebreaker. This time Edwards looked to be in good shape as he was first among the championship four, only to have a caution come out with 10 laps to go. On the restart, Edwards did all he could to keep Joey Logano behind him, but the resulting block resulted in Edwards going into the wall. Give Edwards credit for handling the entire situation with complete class and integrity. And you have to like the fact that he walked to the infield care center. It was a chance for him to gather his thoughts and get calmed down a little before talking to the media. So, Edwards may not have a championship, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a winner.

So close: Carl Edwards had the championship lead with ten laps to go, only to see his dreams go up in smoke. (Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

HOT
This has nothing to do with his last few races and everything to do with one of the great careers in NASCAR. Tony Stewart ran his final Sprint Cup race Sunday to end a career that featured three titles and 49 victories. Stewart was not always a model citizen in terms of showing his temper every now and then, especially in his younger days. But that kind of passion is what made Stewart so great. It also made him relatable because who doesn’t get frustrated with events from time to time? No, he wasn’t perfect, but yes, he does have as big of a heart as anyone who ever drove in NASCAR. While he still will be around as owner, it won’t be the same without him actually being on the NASCAR track. So now, it will just be a matter of finding out when he is driving on the dirt, where his racing heart has always been, if you want to watch him race again.

NOTMartin Truex, Jr.was hot in a literal sense for a few moments Sunday when his car caught on fire. But the driver of the No. 78 car saw his fate determined in this race in much the same way it had been in many races this year. Truex had one of the fastest cars on the track, only to get caught up in the Edwards-Logano incident. At several races this season, Truex had the fastest car and with a little bit of good luck could have won seven or eight races instead of four. In that sense, it was a breakout season for Truex, but now he understands the frustration of having a highly competitive car and not being able to win not only races, but a title.

HOT
With the retirements of Jeff Gordon last year and Stewart this year, it’s only natural to wonder what the future of the Sprint Cup series will look like. But the list of young drivers with high potential is a long one. Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Austin and Ty Dillon, Erik Jones, Daniel Suarez and even Logano means the sport has plenty of quality successors. Just how many titles those drivers will win is impossible to predict, but it’s likely there will be a few dispersed among that group over the next 20 years or so.

NOT
While NASCAR has the shortest offseason of any the major sports, it’s 96 days until the Daytona 500. Just seems way too long.

]]>https://frontstretch.com/2016/11/22/whos-hot-and-whos-not-nascar-championship-edition/feed/4Thinkin’ Out Loud: Sudden Shift Hands Johnson Record-Tying Titlehttps://frontstretch.com/2016/11/21/thinkin-out-loud-sudden-shift-hands-johnson-record-tying-title/
https://frontstretch.com/2016/11/21/thinkin-out-loud-sudden-shift-hands-johnson-record-tying-title/#commentsMon, 21 Nov 2016 05:14:11 +0000https://frontstretch.com/?p=127873Who’s in the headline – The elite level of NASCAR has increased by 50%. There are many gauges to judge the greats but championships are a huge differentiator. Jimmie Johnson took advantage of circumstances that fell his way, led the final three laps, and notched his seventh career title. Johnson shares the headline with Tony …

]]>Who’s in the headline – The elite level of NASCAR has increased by 50%. There are many gauges to judge the greats but championships are a huge differentiator. Jimmie Johnson took advantage of circumstances that fell his way, led the final three laps, and notched his seventh career title. Johnson shares the headline with Tony Stewart who ran his final race at the Cup level of his distinguished career. Johnson’s crew chief Chad Knaus becomes the second to sit atop the box for seven titles.

What happened – Kevin Harvick started on pole and led the first 31 laps. Lost the lead to Carl Edwards on a restart but gained it back three laps later. Gave it up after 33 more laps for a green flag stop. Edwards led a bit before pitting himself. Harvick led 15 more laps before Logano took the point. Edwards took it back on lap 92 and proceeded to trade it with Kyle Larson for next 173 laps except for one lap under caution for Kyle Busch. After an enormous wreck that took out Edwards, damaged Logano and reduced the field by several cars, Johnson positioned himself to grab the top spot on the final restart of the race after a caution for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. being wrecked off of turn two.

Why you should care – People will discuss and debate the relevance and legitimacy but there is no question, Johnson has now joined Petty and Earnhardt in the pantheon of NASCAR. Parity in the sport is at an all-time high and the ability of one man to win seven titles in eleven years is simply amazing. It may be years after he retires but some day his greatness will be appreciated. Probably after he ends up with the most titles and the second most wins.

What your friends are talking about – Daniel Suarez claimed the XFINITY series title Saturday night. He became the first Latin American to win a national touring series title in NASCAR. Suarez is the first graduate of the Drive for Diversity to win an XFINITY series title. Suarez was the Rookie of the Year in the series last year.

Brian France had a media availability Sunday morning in Homestead. He was lauding the title for Suarez and the success of the diversity initiative. He was also quite complimentary of the results of the elimination Chase format in the XFINITY and Truck Series. He was abrupt and dismissive about questions concerning the health of the sport, ratings and attendance. It is never good when the person at the top of the organization refuses to admit there is a problem.

Tommy Baldwin Racing has sold their charter to Leavine Family Racing. Baldwin has been a team owner for eight years in the Cup series and has attempted every race in that time. Circle Sport is ending their partnership with Leavine at the end of this season and Thrivent Financial has announced they will not be returning to their organization. The addition of the charter for LFR will most certainly entice potential sponsors to come on board the No. 95 with guaranteed starting spots in all of the races next season.

Tony Stewart is done racing in the Cup series. One of the best drivers in the history of the sport, with three championships, Stewart leaves with 49 wins. He will undoubtedly be a first ballot Hall of Famer. He will still be present at the track along with his duties as owner of Eldora Speedway, Tony Stewart Racing and the Arctic Cat All-Star Circuit of Champions. Stewart will also be on more local dirt tracks chasing his passion of racing on dirt. Stewart goes down in history as the only driver to win a Winston Cup, Nextel Cup and Sprint Cup.

Toyota won the Manufacturer’s championship in the Cup series for the first time since joining the sport. The presence of the Japanese auto manufacturer has long been a bone of contention for longtime fans but they are a bridge to the younger demographic NASCAR hopes to attract. That also leads Brian France to admit there is at least some interest on behalf of the sanctioning body to add another manufacturer to the mix. Honda has long been discussed. It will be interesting if they ever finally come around.

Who is mad – Is there any doubt the maddest driver leaving Homestead is Carl Edwards? Edwards was in front of the final four drivers for most of the race. He was in a position to win the title when a questionable caution flew for a car bouncing off of the wall. On the subsequent restart Logano had a run and Edwards had to block him to maintain his shot to win the title. He ended up spinning across the track after bouncing off of the inside wall, slid over the top of Kasey Kahne‘s car and wound up in a steaming heap of twisted sheet metal and scored in 34th position. For the second time in his career he had a title ripped from his hands when he was holding it so close to the end of the year.

Martin Truex Jr. saw his season come to an end engulfed in a ball of fire on the inside of turns one and two at Homestead after being caught up in the same wreck that took out Edwards. After failing to make the final eight thanks to a blown engine at Talladega, Truex was hoping to grab a win to finish the year. Unfortunately his car didn’t have the speed to contend for the win Sunday which is why he was back in the pack and caught up in someone else’s mess. Fortunately he got out of the car quickly and was uninjured by the inferno. He is hoping to come back stronger than ever in 2017.

Logano also has to be less than thrilled about the penultimate restart of the race. He had a run on Edwards and made the move to his inside to try and get to the top spot among championship contenders. Edwards blocked for all he was worth and that resulted in the big wreck. While Logano could continue and came home in fourth position in the race, he lost his shot at the title on that one move. Logano has won more races than anyone in the Chase over the last two years but still does not have a title to show for it.

Who is happy – Michael McDowell went into Homestead wondering who will sponsor his car next year and whether he’ll have a ride next year if they can’t find one. He also had to qualify on speed as Ty Dillon was jumping into his normal No. 95 ride. Not only did he qualify into the race he dodged the carnage, had a strong run and came home with a top 10 finish. This was McDowell’s second top 10 of the season which is two more than Danica Patrick, in weaker equipment.

AJ Allmendinger was scored two laps down at one point during the race. Similar to McDowell he kept digging, avoided the mayhem and ended up crossing the finish line in eighth place. This was his ninth top 10 of the season which is the second most of his career. He is still chasing that elusive first oval win, and next year is going to be a challenge expanding to a second team, but he is knocking on the door and the victory is right around the corner.

Top 5s are very hard to come by in the Cup series and Jamie McMurray turned in his second this weekend. His first was week 10 at Talladega. McMurray qualified for the Chase but was knocked out in the first round. His teammate made it one more round but had a win and had better runs during the Chase. Leaving 2016 on an up tick will hopefully set the table for McMurray to make a stronger run in 2017.

When the checkered flag flew: Jimmie Johnson scored the win at Homestead in his 543rd career start.

Johnson’s win was his first of his career at Homestead-Miami Speedway. There are now three tracks on the schedule where Johnson has failed to win. They are Chicago, Kentucky and Watkins Glen.

Johnson was victorious five times in 2016 which is the most in the series.

Johnson also has 29 career wins in the Chase which is more than anyone else in the series.

For his career Larson has come home in the second spot six times. That ties him for 79th on the all-time list.

Rounding out the podium at the season finale was Kevin Harvick for his ninth of the season.

Harvick has come home in the top 3 seven times in his career and three years in a row.

All-time Harvick has come home on the podium 108 times which is 16th on the list.

Chase Elliott won the Rookie of the Race for his 11th place finish and was also announced as the Rookie of the Year in the Cup series.

Toyota was declared the Manufacturer’s champion and swept all three of the national touring series awards in that category.

What is in the cooler – Similar to last week, the new Chase format certainly added some excitement to the racing with the pressure of what was at stake. Sadly the biggest turn in the events was the late race restart crash that took Edwards out of contention. That wreck doesn’t take place if NASCAR doesn’t throw a caution when Dylan Lupton bounces off of the wall in turn one and drives to the pits. The racing was still intense and there were multiple passes for the lead. As a result we’ll give it four cold On Top Blondes from Funky Buddha Brewery.

Where do you point your DVR for next week – NASCAR national touring series racing is done for the season. The next opportunity to see a gathering of your favorite NASCAR stars is Friday, December 2. The banquet will take place at the Wynn in Las Vegas. Racing returns to the track February 18th for the Shootout at Daytona.

]]>https://frontstretch.com/2016/11/21/thinkin-out-loud-sudden-shift-hands-johnson-record-tying-title/feed/25Tony Stewart’s Historic NASCAR Career Ends With Smiles After 18 Yearshttps://frontstretch.com/2016/11/20/tony-stewarts-historic-nascar-career-ends-with-smiles-after-18-years/
https://frontstretch.com/2016/11/20/tony-stewarts-historic-nascar-career-ends-with-smiles-after-18-years/#commentsMon, 21 Nov 2016 03:37:44 +0000https://frontstretch.com/?p=127798“Thank you for everything you’ve done.” The words out of Joe Gibbs’ mouth Sunday evening echoed even with Hendrick Motorsports Jimmie Johnson celebrating his historic seventh Sprint Cup Series championship just a few yards away from the massive crowd surrounding the No. 14 car. 18 years. It has been quite the journey. One of the most …

The words out of Joe Gibbs’ mouth Sunday evening echoed even with Hendrick Motorsports Jimmie Johnson celebrating his historic seventh Sprint Cup Series championship just a few yards away from the massive crowd surrounding the No. 14 car.

18 years. It has been quite the journey.

One of the most successful drivers in NASCAR history is done. That’s it. 618 races and a legend has called it a career.

As NASCAR’s current and past stars went over to congratulate him in the midst of a pool of media, Stewart was all smiles.

“For those guys to send me off the way they did, that was a moment I’ll never forget,” Stewart said. “I’ve been ready to make a change, and that starts now. I had a fun time racing with the guys and laughing and joking all day.”

In traditional Stewart fashion, he went out with some controversy.

Stewart voiced his anger about Landon Cassill arguably getting five spots on the final restart. However, nothing could get in the way of making his last race special.

“What the hell, it’s over,” Stewart joked. “Nobody is mad at me, and I’m not mad at anybody.”

And it is indeed over.

2015 Cup Series champion and Stewart’s teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing in 2008, Kyle Busch, made his way over to the No. 14 car after finishing sixth in a dramatic title battle at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

After years of battling on and off the racetrack, the two hugged it out on pit road.

“I’ll see you at the Christmas party,” Stewart joked.

“Is that right?” Busch asked with a smile.

“Bobby (Labonte), Dale (Jarrett) and I are going to be at the kid’s table in the back raising hell.

“Bring it on, man. It’s going to be fun.”

Stewart’s final day a full-time driver in NASCAR’s premier division began with a world full of emotions. During the driver’s meeting, NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France thanked the three-time champion for what he’s done to the sport.

A tribute video was played to honor Stewart, along with NASCAR Vice Chairman Mike Helton giving him a replica bobble head, a whole lot smaller than the one Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage gave him.

Tony Stewart’s team gathers around his No. 14 car at the end of pit road prior to the Ford EcoBoost 400. (Photo: Dustin Albino)

As the day continued, Stewart’s No. 14 Chevrolet, soaked in a special black paint scheme with pictures of his top moments on the hood, was separated from the rest of the field on the starting grid instead of by his original starting position of 11th. A fence was built around him, and no, President-elect Donald Trump did not build it.

Stewart’s crew, along with a handful of special guests, teammate Kevin Harvick (right) and one of his replacement drivers when he was injured at the start of his final season, Brian Vickers, gathered around for a group picture.

NASCAR set aside a special pace lap dedicated to Stewart’s career. A massive truck circled around the track with a flag that said, “Thanks Smoke!” on it, with Stewart trailing it.

“It’s an honor,” Stewart said about all the plethora of people coming up to him. “I’m the guy that will fight with them if I disagree with them. But they know I’ll fight for them, too. That’s what means the most when you have these guys coming up to you at the end of the day and saying they’re going to miss you.”

Though he won’t be in a racecar any longer, he says he will still fight for drivers if they want him to do so. However, now that he is retired, he is being booted from the driver’s council, just like four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon, who wrapped up his full-time driving career one year prior to Stewart.

Now, as Stewart is set to focus his time on his ownership role with Stewart-Haas Racing and competing in different racing divisions throughout the country, he will hang on tight to his passion.

“I know it’s the end of the driving part,” Stewart said about his NASCAR career. “It’s just not over yet. It’s not over until I retire from Stewart-Haas Racing.”

Stewart ends his career with a 22nd-place finish, two laps down. While he didn’t go out on top on the racetrack, he did in the minds of his peers.

Gordon approached Stewart following the race, splitting a sea of reporters like Moses.

The two shook hands and hugged, beginning the next phase of their friendships as two retired, middle-aged men. As Gordon stepped away, heading to the championship stage to greet the man who set a history mark Sunday evening, Stewart took a moment to gaze at Gordon. He returned to reporters with a giant smile on his face.

]]>https://frontstretch.com/2016/11/20/tony-stewarts-historic-nascar-career-ends-with-smiles-after-18-years/feed/1Tony Stewart Loses Phone, Finds Peace With Retirementhttps://frontstretch.com/2016/11/18/tony-stewart-set-to-focus-on-ownership-role-as-retirement-kicks-in/
Fri, 18 Nov 2016 20:36:39 +0000https://frontstretch.com/?p=127472Tony Stewart will ride into the sunset Sunday evening with a smile on his face no matter the outcome. That’s even if it means he is without one of his most — if not the most — important possession he owns. Stewart’s last NASCAR Sprint Cup Series weekend as a driver is already off to an odd …

]]>Tony Stewart will ride into the sunset Sunday evening with a smile on his face no matter the outcome.

That’s even if it means he is without one of his most — if not the most — important possession he owns.

Stewart’s last NASCAR Sprint Cup Series weekend as a driver is already off to an odd start, which is nothing new for one of the sport’s most colorful characters. But the latest story involving the three-time Cup Series champion is certainly a different type of way to start his last race.

“Someone reached down yesterday and took my cell phone from my pocket,” Stewart said during a press conference late Friday morning. “It’s been a hell of a start to the weekend, getting your phone stolen. Probably the biggest thing I realized when my phone was stolen was the fact that I was in the middle of answering text messages from a bunch of people. I got a flood of text messages yesterday. I’m sure when I turn it on, it’ll be absolutely crazy.”

Stewart was with his girlfriend at a carnival when he lost his phone, he said. As the couple was about to leave the carnival, he realized his iPhone was gone.

Poof.

“We had bumped into some people right before that, and I’m fairly certain that is when it decided it went a different direction, but it was kind of fun because they have that Find My iPhone app,” Stewart said. “We went chasing people forever trying to find it, until we realized they were in the parking lot and they got in the car and they were gone. I hit block on it and deleted it, and now I’ve got to get a new phone, which is devastating because I do everything off of my cell phone.”

Now, Stewart will “start his life over tomorrow.”

But in all reality, he will click the reset button Sunday, when he straps into his No. 14 car — or any Cup car, for that matter — for the final time. Instead of having to wake up for 9 a.m. practice sessions on Saturday mornings, he’ll be enjoying sleeping in as Clint Bowyer takes over his ride in 2017.

Still, even as Stewart transitions into the life of a retired racer, he’ll have plenty on his plate.

While Smoke claimed he will not be like Jeff Gordon, who replaced an injured Dale Earnhardt, Jr. this year, he said he will continue to race. However, it just won’t be in a Cup car. The schedule is set to be full of sprint car races instead, along with possible runs in the Whelen Modified Tour.

There is also one top-tier NASCAR event on Stewart’s list to which he is still open.

“The Truck [Series] race [at Eldora Speedway] is a tug-of-war every year,” Stewart said. “About April or May, I get in a tug-of-war with myself: Do I want to do the Truck race? I would love to race the Truck race at Eldora. The trouble is, I worry like a parent the whole time that we are there for that race.

“I think you guys have seen the role I play there every year, and it’s a busy role. So I don’t know that I have time to do the Truck race. Maybe one day down the road. But right now I am going to take care of making sure we do the best job we can as a racetrack to put on a great event.”

Stewart is quite comfortable with the idea of retiring, something rare for athletes being forced to end their careers. Perhaps that’s because, along with racing elsewhere he’ll be busy with a Cup Series ownership role with Gene Haas.

Not only did Stewart-Haas Racing make the swap from Chevrolet to Ford in 2017, but the organization is also expanding to the XFINITY Series with Cole Custer. SHR expects to keep a four-car Cup organization for the foreseeable future.

Stewart, who competed for Joe Gibbs Racing from 1999 to 2008, is grateful for his time with the former NFL head coach as his owner.

“You have to remember I drove for Joe Gibbs a total of 12 years – 10 years in the Cup Series,” Stewart said. “If it weren’t for that, I don’t think I would have ever been a racecar owner. I don’t think I would have ever been a track owner, and I damn sure wouldn’t have even remotely entertained the idea of being an owner at the Cup level.

“I learned a lot from Joe. Anyone who has been successful in the NFL, NASCAR and NHRA, you realize there is something special there and you want to learn from. If you paid attention to what he said, which there were a lot of times that I didn’t pay attention enough, but the days I did pay attention, I learned a lot from Joe, and those lessons are what helped the foundation in my mind to do what I have done in the last 15 years.”

Since becoming a team owner in NASCAR’s premier division, Stewart’s partnership with Haas has created one of the sport’s most successful programs. Stewart brought the team its first title in 2011, with Kevin Harvick giving them another championship in 2014.

And Gibbs is quite appreciative of the years he had to not only develop Stewart’s on-track abilities in a stock car, but also the respect he has earned from his peers on the track and off.

Joe Gibbs and Roger Penske are two of the sport’s top car owners honoring Tony Stewart this weekend. (Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

“He’s one of the best people who has a great feeling for himself and great pride,” Gibbs said. “He told me, ‘I’m not ready.’ I don’t know any other driver who said they’re not ready. When he was racing for us, he had such a passion. He really went after it. He’s one of the greatest competitors.

“We had a horrible pit stop when he first went to Cup, and most drivers usually go nuts. He goes to the back of the field and goes, ‘watch this.’ He went to the front faster than anybody.”

Along the way, Stewart has garnered respect from NASCAR’s premier owners, each of whom have developed championship-caliber organizations that will compete with him for some time to come.

“To see him step out and do something else is amazing,” team owner Roger Penske said. “I respect him, and I also respect him to say, hey, it’s time for me to get out — Rick Mears did that a number of years ago. He said, you know, Roger, I just can’t dig down deep enough anymore to make it happen. I think that’s where Tony is.”

]]>Friday Faceoff: Enough of a Sendoff for Smoke?https://frontstretch.com/2016/11/17/friday-faceoff-enough-of-a-sendoff-for-smoke/
https://frontstretch.com/2016/11/17/friday-faceoff-enough-of-a-sendoff-for-smoke/#commentsFri, 18 Nov 2016 03:56:24 +0000https://frontstretch.com/?p=127437The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is now a year into the caution clock rule. Did it work as advertised, and should NASCAR consider it in the XFINITY and Cup series? Jeff Wolfe, Senior Writer: I’m not sure if it’s the best idea for the XFINITY or Cup series, but I have liked the way …

]]>The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is now a year into the caution clock rule. Did it work as advertised, and should NASCAR consider it in the XFINITY and Cup series?

Jeff Wolfe, Senior Writer:I’m not sure if it’s the best idea for the XFINITY or Cup series, but I have liked the way it has worked out for the Truck Series. At first I thought it was a terrible idea, but it has given the Truck Series a bit of a unique twist to its rules, and it also has played a big factor in strategy in several races.

Mike Neff, Short Track Editor: It absolutely worked as advertised, because it put a new element of strategy into racing. If you like to have racing more like stick-and-ball sports where clocks determine the periods of action, then it would work in the other two national series. That said, I like to see people push equipment to its limits, and you don’t get that with a 20-minute timeframe.

Amy Henderson, Senior Editor: Yeah… no. The caution clock is really nothing more than a scheduled debris caution. The purpose of a caution is not to bunch up the field or let everyone pit; it’s to keep drivers safe when there’s a legitimate problem with the track. The caution clock is another gimmick in a long line of gimmicks designed to magically rope in a generation of fans whose attention spans are better suited to drag racing.

Mark Howell, Senior Writer: I was totally against the caution clock when it was first announced and introduced, but now, after a season of using it, I believe it’s added an interesting competitive wrinkle to the series. It’s not relevant for either the Cup or the XFINITY divisions, but it seems to have created unique challenges for the Truck teams this year. Too much control is often just that, but I think this addition was one that worked quite well overall.

Clayton Caldwell, Contributor: I don’t think it worked. Call me old school, but I’m not a fan of slowing a race down, which is what the caution clock does. Fans complain the races are too long as they are, so why would we slow them down with an intentional caution? Makes no sense to me. You can’t convince me it’s a good thing. Ever.

NASCAR is rumored to be looking at restrictor plates for Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2017 in the XFINITY Series? Your thoughts?

Henderson: What Neff said. I was at that race. I’m not a physicist, but I think the banking is a huge part of why drivers can pass in plate races and on a flat track, there will be no passing because they can’t carry enough momentum into the corners. Here’s a novel idea, though: there’s a track across town that doesn’t need any help making the racing exciting.

Howell:I am usually 150 percent against restrictor plate racing in any series, but perhaps making such a change next year will improve the quality of racing we see from XFINITY cars at Indianapolis. Maybe the greater problem is the nature of Indy itself, being that it’s not conducive to multiple-lane competition when full-bodied stock cars are on the track. Dare we suggest that the Brickyard be dropped from the schedule? No, but it’s possible that running with plates will help liven up the show.

Caldwell: NASCAR’s idea behind this is to get the racing more like we see in the Indianapolis 500 in May. It tried that with the high-drag package last year, and it didn’t work at all; it was a rough race to watch. It’s going to be different than what we see on the superspeedways, because Indianapolis isn’t a wide, high-banked racetrack. There’s one groove and that’s it. It’ll be interesting, but I don’t know if that will help the racing at Indianapolis.

Wolfe: The restrictor plates might be the only thing that can make a race at Indy look competitive. I don’t think the plates are necessary to keep speeds down because of the four distinct corners at Indy that help slow the speeds. But if NASCAR does do the plates there, then it will be in the name of competition, not safety.

NASCAR penalized Martin Truex, Jr. and Jimmie Johnson at Phoenix International Raceway for passing the pace car while entering pit road under caution. It made the right call based on the rule, but it hasn’t been enforced since Kevin Harvick and Casey Mears got similar penalties at Dover International Speedway last spring. Is it that nobody has done it since then, or has NASCAR been

An unexpected penalty cost Jimmie Johnson a shot at the victory in Phoenix. Could it happen again at Homestead? (Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

missing the boat on the calls?

Henderson: Without going back and watching yellow-flag pit stops from every week, it’s hard to say exactly how often it happens, but I have a hard time believing it has not once ever happened between Dover in May and now. I get wanting to make sure championships are won fairly, but it seems like too little, too late. NASCAR has always struggled with credibility because of inconsistencies either perceived or real (and it can be argued that if they are perceived, they are real), and this kind of thing is why. You don’t get to pick and choose when to enforce a rule and who to enforce it on.

Howell: NASCAR feels compelled to enforce so many rules that it’s inevitable it’ll miss a few week-in and week-out. Making calls in a seemingly random manner is not OK, so officials need to decide on what’s necessary to enforce and what could be dropped from the rulebook. I know there are rules/laws that are understood to be regularly broken (as in speed limits, where it’s OK to go 10 mph over), but that also adds the element of complaining when Racer A gets caught while Racer B goes about his or her way. I think passing the pace car has been one of those rules that’s been overlooked during most weekends. If so, there’s no reason to enforce it now.

Caldwell: This is an odd situation. I understand wanting to enforce a rule, but why not wait until 2017? If it’s that big of a rule where you had to enforce it Sunday, why wasn’t it enforced all the time? Luckily, the penalty didn’t affect someone’s championship hopes, but if it had, NASCAR would have looked bad. I’ve been watching the sport for 20-plus years and never remember this happening other than Sunday and at Dover with Kevin Harvick and Casey Mears. NASCAR said it had to penalize Jimmie Johnson because of consistency. Not sure if that was the best word for the situation.

Wolfe: I think NASCAR was using the letter of the law against Martin Truex, Jr. and Johnson and not the spirit of the law. They both were just doing what cars normally do by speeding up a little before hitting the first timing line at the entrance of pit lane. It’s what all cars do at pretty much every race. Did they by they break the rule by passing the pace car? Well, yes, but because of the design of the track and pit entrance at Phoenix, it just made for a bit of weird situation.

Neff: I’m not sure what happened at Phoenix. It has been a longtime practice for the leader to gas up and head to the pits ahead of the pace car. The rule has always been there and should be enforced more often. As with any rule in the book, if it is implemented properly it will get everyone in line rather quickly.

Kevin Harvick said last week that he didn’t feel that Tony Stewart has been given his due in terms of the kind of retirement gifts and celebrations from various tracks that Jeff Gordon received in 2015. Is Harvick right? Is Stewart being overlooked in his final season?

Howell:Tony Stewart‘s farewell tour has been pretty much limited to signage thanking him for his years of involvement in racing. That seems slightly shallow, but perhaps more relevant than the catalog of gifts Jeff Gordon (or his family) received last season; did Gordon really need a Bandolero car or two ponies? While the giant bobblehead seemed like a novel idea, knowing Smoke’s unique sense of humor, I think honoring him through kind words and sincere gratitude means more than truckloads of stuff to store and/or eventually donate to charity.

Caldwell:He is, but I don’t think Stewart wants the same treatment. Part of the problem is that Stewart has been checked out all season long. The fans kind of went a little sour on him after his comments earlier in the year that he doesn’t want to be in NASCAR anymore and he was basically only there because of sponsors, whereas Gordon was very gracious and smiled all the time in his final year. Stewart’s honesty hurt him here, but I don’t think he cares all that much. He just wants to go dirt racing.

Wolfe:I’m not sure if Stewart has been shorted on the gifts or not. He’s certainly received plenty of different types of appreciations and gestures, from having his own little dirt track made for him at Indy to the life-sized bobblehead given to him at Texas Motor Speedway. I think Smoke’s got enough money and other stuff where he doesn’t need to play the game of who has the most toys wins.

Neff: Stewart told everyone he didn’t want a bunch of rocking chairs. He’s had gestures, but he certainly could have had more. People are near-sighted; in 10 years they’re going to realize just how great Stewart was at driving racecars and how important he was for NASCAR. Tony Stewart is one of the five greatest race car drivers of all time. There were better stock car drivers, better IndyCar drivers and better sprint car drivers, but if you look at someone who does all of it, Stewart is unquestionably top 5 all-time. I’m willing to bet there will be a big tribute at the banquet, but that may be too little too late.

Henderson: Stewart did say he didn’t want a big deal made about his retirement, but I do think he’s been somewhat overlooked. One year ago, last weekend’s race was run at Jeff Gordon Raceway in tribute to Gordon’s accomplishments. This time around, it remained just Phoenix. The bobblehead was pretty cool, and there have been some cool things, but all in all it seems much less than a year ago. I do wonder if that’s due to Stewart’s wishes or his personality, which has been decidedly less fluffy than Gordon’s over the years. If it’s the former, that’s OK, but if it’s the latter, it’s a shame people let the end of the road for one of the greatest drivers ever to climb into a car go by with so little fanfare.

]]>https://frontstretch.com/2016/11/17/friday-faceoff-enough-of-a-sendoff-for-smoke/feed/8Did You Notice? … NASCAR Parity Not the Answerhttps://frontstretch.com/2016/11/16/did-you-notice-nascar-parity-not-the-answer/
https://frontstretch.com/2016/11/16/did-you-notice-nascar-parity-not-the-answer/#commentsWed, 16 Nov 2016 05:58:25 +0000https://frontstretch.com/?p=127319Did You Notice? … This season has produced more parity than at any time in recent NASCAR history? To answer that question we look no further than this year’s edition of the Championship 4. Each driver has either three or four victories; they’d all be inside the top 10 in points without the Chase. You can …

]]>Did You Notice? … This season has produced more parity than at any time in recent NASCAR history?

To answer that question we look no further than this year’s edition of the Championship 4. Each driver has either three or four victories; they’d all be inside the top 10 in points without the Chase. You can make a case for Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards or Joey Logano winning the title without much of a complaint from the fan base.

That parity has a trickle-down effect despite a year where Joe Gibbs Racing’s four-car team has had an edge. While it’s true JGR put two cars in the Championship 4, the first time in the history of the format a team has done so its final numbers aren’t as dominant as they first appeared. In fact, just one JGR driver is among the five currently tied atop the series with four victories apiece: Kyle Busch joins Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex, Jr. and Kevin Harvick.

It’s possible none of those drivers emerge victorious at Homestead, keeping the season high for wins at four. If that happens, it’s the lowest total to lead the series since 1950. That’s right; Curtis Turner had four victories that season to lead the series in only its second year, when the sport ran just 19 races including its first Southern 500 at Darlington Speedway.

On paper, you’d think that was a good thing, parity trickling down across the board and representing Ford, Chevrolet and Toyota. But fans, turned off by homogeneous cars, also appear to be unmoved by the same set of rotating faces up front. While a number of different drivers are winning, they’re also the same ones we’ve seen year in, year out. Just two first-time winners broke through – Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher – and both were eliminated after the Chase’s first round. The other first-time postseason participants, Austin Dillon and Chase Elliott, both failed to make the Round of 8.

Kyle Larson joined Chris Buescher as a first-time Cup Series winner this year but his impact on the Chase was limited after a first-round exit. (Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

That left the fans with the same merry-go-round of drivers sharing time at the front. Apparently, seeing the same faces there combined with the same car owners, teams and a drop in lead changes meant there were a limited number of compelling new storylines other than the surge of Truex and single-car Furniture Row Racing.

It should also be noted that just one win almost certainly guarantees someone a spot in the postseason; it may make fans care less about who accumulates two, three, four or more. Whatever the reason, there’s a disconnect because NASCAR is losing its fan base at a time when it’s produced one of the more competitive years the sport has ever had to offer.

Did You Notice? … Kevin Harvick‘s comments regarding the retiring Tony Stewart? Harvick said last week racetracks “haven’t done a good job giving credit” toward his Stewart-Haas Racing boss for what he’s achieved in not only NASCAR but also the sport of auto racing. While Stewart has received a handful of gifts, among them a 6-foot-tall bobblehead from Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage, the celebration around his pending departure from the driver’s seat has been muted. And when you compare it to Jeff Gordon? Stewart looks like a second-class citizen, not a three-time series champion.

To be fair, Gordon’s final season also came with a surprise push toward a title, one that resulted in the highest Homestead-Miami Speedway television ratings the sport had seen in a decade. Stewart, thus far hasn’t done much beyond a brief summer surge that accompanied his Sonoma Raceway victory; a first-round Chase flame-out has left him frustrated, limping toward the finish line with five straight finishes outside the top 10. Smoke has led a grand total of two laps since last visiting Victory Lane in June; his organization, preparing for a transition to Ford in 2017, was shut out of the Championship 4 altogether.

But I think it’s important to note the elephant in the room here with Stewart. Gordon, the epitome of NASCAR’s transition to corporate culture, was just as comfortable co-hosting with Kelly Ripa as he was behind the wheel of a racecar. Gordon’s white-collar mindset in a blue-collar world associated him with a crossover fan base; he knew how the business side worked, a Fortune 500 company’s dream. No wonder why on the way out this four-time champ earned the type of gifts you’d see from an executive after retiring from the CEO position after 40 years with the company.

Stewart, by comparison, is old school, and these days he comes with baggage. The tragedy involving Kevin Ward, Jr. will haunt Smoke forever; every day, he has to live with the fact his vehicle struck and killed another human. The public relations fallout is one the veteran never completely recovered from as his temper, often on display during his early years of driving Sprint Cup, was laid bare in plenty of past incidents revisited for all to see.

That death, rightly or wrongly, clouded the fanfare of Stewart’s final seasons. He’s also never achieved the same success since his devastating leg injury in mid-2013; since then, he’s visited Victory Lane only once and collected just eight top-5 finishes in nearly 100 starts. Aggravation has set in, the 45-year-old disillusioned with the modern era of NASCAR and homogeneous cars that give engineers, not driving talent, a leg up at most tracks on the circuit. Despite being a car owner, those disconnects add up, and it creates a reality that people in the sport don’t appreciate his contributions as much as they should.

That’s a shame, for Smoke’s impact and accomplishments make him not just a NASCAR Hall of Famer but also a once-in-a-generation type of driver. He had the talent to win the Indy 500, capturing the open-wheel IRL title before winning a NASCAR championship in multiple formats. He’s won at every active Cup Series track except Kentucky Speedway and Darlington, and only Gordon has more than his eight road course triumphs. Stewart’s final championship, completed as an owner/driver in 2011, may be the last time we see such an achievement at NASCAR’s highest level.

Stewart did it all, traversing across the country with the type of passion and emotion we just don’t see from the majority of the NASCAR garage anymore. He never hesitated to speak out; journalists, sometimes repulsed by him sniping at stupid questions, would still come running for a quote when they needed honesty. Even when you’re on the wrong side of Stewart’s gripes, you never lose respect; the kind, charitable side of the man often goes unreported. I don’t think he would have it any other way; giving under the radar but keeping that quiet allows his critics to go straight for the bullseye.

Do you agree with Kevin Harvick's comments that Tony Stewart has not gotten enough credit during his retirement season?

Perhaps at Homestead, Stewart will finally get his due. The Chase overshadows a lot but hopefully isn’t large enough to obscure his final drive.

Did You Notice? … Quick hits before we take off…

Koda the Cheetah picking a NASCAR champion? Really?? Who thinks this stuff up? Like, who is actually employed and says, in the middle of the day, “You know what will bring our fans back? Finding a random cheetah in the zoo and asking him to pick our series champion!” Amazing.

Monster Energy is the latest rumor in the search for a company to assume the sport’s title sponsorship in 2017. At this point, it doesn’t matter if it’s them or the Loch Ness Monster — time to get a deal done. There’s been an exodus of sponsorship stage right in recent months (Dollar General, Albertson’s, Farmers Insurance, Thrivent Financial), and NASCAR needs to put its foot down with a public pronouncement that there are still companies out there willing to spend big money to be involved in its sport.

Brian Scott’s retirement at age 28 opens the door for someone to sneak into a middle-class ride at Richard Petty Motorsports. The bigger problem is who’s in Ford’s development pipeline. Elliott Sadler is too old. Ryan Reed and Darrell Wallace, Jr. are tied to Roush Fenway Racing. Who does that leave as a potential replacement? And who would have the funding needed for the ride? Perhaps RPM will think outside the box? It’s always been aggressive in free agency but has never been able to land that big name.

]]>https://frontstretch.com/2016/11/16/did-you-notice-nascar-parity-not-the-answer/feed/10Thinkin’ Out Loud: Joey Logano Steals Victory From the Jaws of Defeat at Phoenixhttps://frontstretch.com/2016/11/14/thinkin-out-loud-joey-logano-steals-victory-from-the-jaws-of-defeat-at-phoenix/
https://frontstretch.com/2016/11/14/thinkin-out-loud-joey-logano-steals-victory-from-the-jaws-of-defeat-at-phoenix/#commentsMon, 14 Nov 2016 05:54:41 +0000https://frontstretch.com/?p=127187Who’s in the headline – In the final elimination race of the season, Joey Logano looked like he was about to slip out of contention for a transfer position. Fortunately for him, a caution flag flew, which bunched the field up and afforded him a final shot to reclaim a spot in the final four. …

]]>Who’s in the headline – In the final elimination race of the season, Joey Logano looked like he was about to slip out of contention for a transfer position. Fortunately for him, a caution flag flew, which bunched the field up and afforded him a final shot to reclaim a spot in the final four. A crash ultimately afforded Logano the position at the front of the field, which led to him leading the final two green flag laps and his seventh career Chase victory.

What happened – Alex Bowman won his first career Cup Series pole and took off at the drop of the green flag. He led for 92 laps before Logano grabbed the top spot after a restart. 27 laps after Logano went to the front, it was Jimmie Johnson‘s turn at the fore. Johnson led 13 laps before a caution saw him pull up past the pace car to pit. He was given a one-lap penalty that resulted in being dropped deep in the pack and eventually caught up in an issue for Austin Dillon that took him out of any contention for a win.

Logano went back to the point for 23 laps before Bowman returned to the lead. Another 101 laps went in the books with the No. 88 at the front before Denny Hamlin stayed out to take a shot at making the final four. Matt Kenseth took the lead on the penultimate restart but ended up being caught up on the final restart after 55 laps out front.

Why you should care – Kenseth was poised to be the second Joe Gibbs Racing entry in the final four when he came down on Bowman on that penultimate restart and ended up in the outside wall. That not only put Kenseth out of the title chase, but it opened the door for Logano to win the race. Kyle Busch ended up advancing, and very well might have without that incident, but Kenseth’s demise assured Busch would advance.

For the first time since the elimination format came around in 2014, Kevin Harvick was sent packing. Kurt Busch was never in contention during the three races of the round of eight so he joined Harvick as both of the hopefuls for Stewart-Haas Racing were eliminated at Phoenix.

What your friends are talking about – The four drivers in the final have all looked strong this Chase and this year. Whoever wins the title will be a deserving champion. Johnson has been strong for most of the Chase races but mistakes have taken them out of several opportunities to win. Homestead is one of the tracks where Johnson is still winless. He’s secured six titles there but has never had to perform at a race winning level. If the No. 48 wants to win the seventh title of his career, they cannot afford any mental mistakes. Meanwhile Carl Edwards goes back to the track where his heart was ripped out by Tony Stewart in 2011. It seems as though Edwards has been the least formidable of the JGR crowd this season but it doesn’t matter if they can put it together at Homestead.

Logano, on the other hand, has not been nearly as strong this season as he has in the past two but he’s stepped up when his back was against the wall the last two rounds. His team obviously has momentum going into Homestead so he very well could bring Roger Penske his second Cup series title. Kyle Busch has been showing greater consistency than anyone with eight top 10s in nine Chase races. He has to overcome his feeling of costing Kenseth a shot at the title thanks to his bump of Bowman on that late restart but, as the most recent winner at Homestead, he is poised to be the first back-to-back winner since Johnson won his five straight in 2006-2010.

While the sanctioning body has not announced the new title sponsor for the Cup series, they are in advance stage negotiations with Monster Energy Drink to fill that role, according to Motorsport.com. Monster controls 39 percent of the energy drink market and is a gateway to that elusive 18-34 demographic that NASCAR has been chasing since Goodyear invented tires. The word is that, should the company assume the title role, it will not immediately impact the sponsorship of Kurt Busch’s Cup ride.

Jake Leatherman passed away from Leukemia a week ago. The young man was well known in the Charlotte area after Molly Grantham reported on his rare leukemia over a year ago. He was well known in the NASCAR garage and, when his mother let it be known that he had hoped NASCAR people would show up at his funeral dressed in uniform, it was unquestionable that some of the members of the NASCAR community would step up. Logano, Matt DiBenedetto, Ryan Ellis and JJ Yeley were among the over 60 NASCAR people who showed up for the funeral. In this modern world where so many people seem to be focused on themselves, it is refreshing to once again see how giving the NASCAR community is.

Who is mad – Kenseth has to be the maddest driver of any coming out of Phoenix. Kenseth methodically worked his way to the front of the field and was about to win the race when Michael McDowell wrecked. He then made a bad decision on the subsequent restart that resulted in his spinning into the outside wall of turn one. In that blink of an eye Kenseth’s hopes for a second career title went up in smoke.

Harvick is mad, not just from this weekend, but from this Chase. SHR was strong during the regular season again this year but they simply didn’t have speed when the Chase came around. He managed to win twice in the Chase but was terrible for most of the other races. He came to Phoenix, where he’s dominated most of the recent races there, and was just never legitimately in contention.

Bowman has to be mad for a couple of reasons. He was in contention to battle Kenseth for the win on the penultimate restart before Kenseth crowded him into the inside wall and eventually spun off of his nose. Then, when NASCAR lined him up for the next restart, they stuck him in the fifth spot. If he wasn’t going to be third then Kyle Busch should have been the race leader. The starting positions are supposed to be based on loop data when the caution flies but looking at the video the starting spots made no sense.

Who is happy – Ryan Blaney was seldom on the television screen during the race on Sunday. He started eighth and slid back to the back quarter of the top 20 for the first third of the race. He climbed into the top 15 for the next half of the race before making moves toward the front to end up in the same eighth position where he started. It was another top 10 for Blaney this season and it put him in the highest finishing position for a rookie which garnered the Rookie of the Race award for him.

Speaking of quiet runs, Paul Menard scored a top 10 at Phoenix with almost zero fanfare. The last 15 races of this season have been tough for Menard, with one finish above 16th . He’s only scored three top 10s this year which means it will statistically be his worst season since 2009. Richard Childress Racing put Austin Dillon in the Chase but Ryan Newman and Menard have had less than stellar years. It has to feel good for Menard to head into the off-season with a good run.

It is tough being a multi-car team owner. On any given weekend you have at least as many teams to console as you do to congratulate. Joe Gibbs might have been down after Phoenix with Kenseth being wrecked out and Hamlin coming up short but, when he looks at it on the plane ride home, he’ll realize that of all of the teams who ran the entire season, he has half of the final four. That is a pretty strong accomplishment in the ultra competitive world of modern Cup racing.
When the checkered flag flew: Joey Logano scored the 17th victory of his Cup career in his 290th start.

Logano has three triumphs in 2016.

This is his first win at Phoenix International Raceway.

Logano is tied for 48th on the all-time win list with Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman, Marvin Panch and Curtis Turner.

Logano leads all drivers in the elimination era of the Chase with seven wins.

Kyle Busch crossed the line as the first loser at Phoenix for his third career top 2 at PIR.

The second place run was Busch’s 36th career runner-up finish which is 19th on the all-time list.

Busch is 19th on the all-time wins list and on the all-time second place list.

This top 2 was Busch’s ninth of the 2016 season.

Kyle Larson rounded out the podium at Phoenix. This was Larson’s seventh top 3 run of the season.

This is Larson’s first career top 3 at PIR.

Larson has 13 career podium finishes which ties him for 92nd on the all-time list.

Ryan Blaney was the Rookie of the Race

Three drivers advanced to Homestead for the championship weekend via win. Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards and Joey Logano. Kyle Busch is the lone driver to make the final four on points.

What is in the cooler – Even a casual NASCAR fan had to enjoy the racing action on Sunday. The six Chase drivers contending for the final two spots in Homestead were within the top seven for much of the last portion of the race. Drivers went three wide trying to get to positions that would allow them to transfer, there were on-track passes for the lead and dive bomb runs across the flat of the backstraight affording people the shot to make a pass. Bogus debris cautions are the only thing that keeps it from falling into the true barn burner category. It earns five ice cold 8th Street Pale Ales from Four Peaks Brewing Company.

Where do you point your DVR for next week – One week left in the 2016 Cup season. It will culminate Sunday November 20th starting at 2:30 PM. The race can be seen on NBC and streamed on NBCSports LiveExtra. The action can also be heard on your local MRN affiliate or SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90.

]]>https://frontstretch.com/2016/11/14/thinkin-out-loud-joey-logano-steals-victory-from-the-jaws-of-defeat-at-phoenix/feed/3NASCAR Penalizes Nearly Two Dozen Teams in Texashttps://frontstretch.com/2016/11/10/nascar-penalizes-nearly-two-dozen-teams-in-texas/
https://frontstretch.com/2016/11/10/nascar-penalizes-nearly-two-dozen-teams-in-texas/#commentsThu, 10 Nov 2016 13:36:32 +0000https://frontstretch.com/?p=127046On Wednesday, NASCAR released the weekly penalty report stemming from Texas. Compared to recent weeks, this one was quite the doozy. In the Sprint Cup Series, Joey Logano‘s No. 22 Ford that finished second Sunday night was found to have one loose lugnut. As a result, the No. 22 has been hit with a P2 …

]]>On Wednesday, NASCAR released the weekly penalty report stemming from Texas. Compared to recent weeks, this one was quite the doozy.

In the Sprint Cup Series, Joey Logano‘s No. 22 Ford that finished second Sunday night was found to have one loose lugnut. As a result, the No. 22 has been hit with a P2 penalty and crew chief Todd Gordon has been fined $10,000.

You may remember that a number of teams had trouble getting out to pit road before the start of qualifying on Friday. That is because ten separate teams flunked the templates at least twice. Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 11 for Denny Hamlin, No. 18 for Kyle Busch and No. 20 for Matt Kenseth, along with Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 6 for Trevor Bayne, Stewart-Haas Racing’s No. 41 for Kurt Busch and BK Racing’s No. 83 for Matt DiBenedetto (prior to him being placed in the concussion protocol) all failed the templates twice and earned warnings. Hamlin and Bayne’s teams both received their fourth warnings as a result of this failure and lost their pit selection. They took those penalties in Texas.

Stewart-Haas Racing’s No. 4 for Kevin Harvick and No. 14 for Tony Stewart, along with Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 for Carl Edwards and Furniture Row Racing’s No. 78 for Martin Truex, Jr. all failed the templates three times prior to qualifying. All these teams have been warned and will miss 15 minutes of practice this weekend in Phoenix.

Three more teams failed the laser inspection prior to qualifying. Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 for pole-sitter Austin Dillon and Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 16 for Greg Biffle failed the laser twice and earned warnings. Biffle’s No. 16 earned its fourth warning as a result and lost their pit selection for Texas. JTG-Daugherty Racing’s No. 47 for AJ Allmendinger failed the laser inspection three times. As a result, the No. 47 team got warned and Allmendinger will miss 15 minutes of practice in Phoenix.

The No. 3 team got their second warning of the weekend Sunday morning when they failed the laser inspection twice more to make four for the weekend. They were joined by BK Racing’s No. 23 for David Ragan.

In the XFINITY Series, encumbered finishes came into play for the first time. Both Richard Childress Racing’s No. 62 for Brendan Gaughan and JR Motorsports’ No. 88 for Harvick failed post-race inspection due to being too low in the rear. As a result, both were penalized with $10,000 fines for their respective crew chiefs (Shane Wilson and Dave Elenz), a ten-point driver’s point penalty for Gaughan, and a ten point penalty in the owners’ points for both cars. Had either Harvick or Gaughan actually won Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge, NASCAR would not have allowed either driver to use the benefits of the victory towards advancing in the Chase.

]]>https://frontstretch.com/2016/11/10/nascar-penalizes-nearly-two-dozen-teams-in-texas/feed/1Who’s Hot & Who’s Not in NASCAR: Rainy Nights Editionhttps://frontstretch.com/2016/11/08/whos-hot-whos-not-rainy-nights-edition/
Tue, 08 Nov 2016 06:07:11 +0000https://frontstretch.com/?p=126919Sometimes the rain taketh away and sometimes it giveth. Carl Edwards was glad to be on the good side of that precipitation equation in what turned out to be a Sunday night race at Texas Motor Speedway following rain and a slow-drying track. With his victory, Edwards has joined Jimmie Johnson to make up two of …

Carl Edwards was glad to be on the good side of that precipitation equation in what turned out to be a Sunday night race at Texas Motor Speedway following rain and a slow-drying track.

With his victory, Edwards has joined Jimmie Johnson to make up two of the four drivers who will run for the title at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

But before the series visits Florida, it must pass through Phoenix International Raceway for the final race in the Chase’s Round of 8. There’s a good chunk of drivers hoping to finish the season strong who are white hot entering Arizona, while others are decidedly on the other side of the spectrum.

HOT
Edwards wasn’t the fastest car all night, but he was the fastest car with the fastest pit crew at the right time. Note that it was last year in Phoenix where rain ruined any chance of Edwards making it to the Championship 4 round at Homestead, so he’s felt the rain pain before.

Perhaps Mother Nature gave him a little payback? Edwards was closer to singing in the rain Sunday night. A late pit stop allowed him to take the lead over Martin Truex, Jr. and edge ahead for 36 laps before the rain that everyone knew was coming arrived.

While Edwards declined on a doing his traditional celebratory victory backflip, he did say “awesome” about 206 times in his post-race interview, so maybe that made for the missing backflip this time.

The real question now is: if Edwards does go on and win his first title, will he join Twitter like he has promised?

NOT
While it’s true that NASCAR has tried and is trying to do more to make the races on 1.5-mile tracks at least a little more competitive, that didn’t work at all at Texas Sunday night. Maybe it’s the old pavement, maybe it was the night racing, or maybe it was the tires. Whatever the case, the race was plagued by clean air strategy, which means pretty much every car that came out of a yellow flag pit stop with the lead was going to keep it. Once Edwards’ crew did its job, he all but knew he was going to win the race. It’s not that the drivers and crews aren’t trying to go faster in traffic (they are), but being fast enough to go through traffic and pass the leader is a rare thing on these 1.5-mile cookie cutter tracks.

HOT
I know that complaining about the Chase and the scoring system is a popular, perhaps overdone topic, but when you look at the standings heading into Phoenix, even with just eight drivers eligible for the title, there are all kinds of possibilities. You’ve got one of the race favorites, Kevin Harvick, pretty much needing to win, or he will not contend for the title at Homestead. Then, at least for the moment, you’ve got four drivers within two points of each other fighting for the final two Chase spots. But if Harvick (or, say, Kurt Busch) does win, then that means there will be four drivers within two points fighting for one spot. It’s just the kind of late-season drama NASCAR wanted when it drew up the current points system.

Tony Stewart has struggled to stay in contention during the last few races of his long, distinguished Sprint Cup Series career. (Photo: Zach Catanzareti)

NOTTony Stewart may be one of NASCAR’s greatest drivers in its history, and the fact that he made the Chase in his final season was a great story. But the last three races, it looks like Stewart has mailed it in. Maybe he has realized early on in a race that his car wasn’t going to be competitive and he doesn’t want to get in the way of those still running for the title, but consecutive finishes of 32nd, 26th and 31st are just not Smoke-like. It would be quite the popular victory if he pulled off career win No. 50 at Phoenix or Homestead, but realistically, there’s not much hope of that happening.

HOT
Every now and then in the pre-race ceremonies, you get something a little different and a little special. During the pre-race at Texas Sunday afternoon (before the rain came), the speedway had a Cub Scout troop say the pledge of allegiance as a group. Was it done perfectly in terms of being together or in some kind of harmony? Certainly not. Was it done with a spirit of enthusiasm and sincerity? It certainly was, and you just had to love it. There can never be too many good examples of how to honor our flag and country, and this instance was one of the best.

NOT
One of the issues facing NASCAR now (and, it looks like, probably into the offseason) is the need for a title sponsor. We’ve known for nearly two years that Sprint was leaving but there still doesn’t seem to be a deal reaching the final stages. NASCAR said it still has several interested companies, and it’s hard to say whether that’s a good thing or not. You would think by now it would be narrowed down to, say the last two or three finalists on the list.

It makes you wonder if NASCAR overvalued its sponsorship in terms of the amount of dollars a company wants to spend to put its name on the sport’s top series. It also makes you wonder even more if NASCAR was close to a deal with a company that backed out maybe after seeing declining TV ratings and attendance, sending executives scrambling back to other suitors.

Nevertheless, a lack of a title sponsor almost three months out from NASCAR’s marquee event leaves a lot more questions than answers.

Predictions

The last couple of years, the No. 4 team of Kevin Harvick has come through when the pressure is on, and that will be the case again Sunday at Phoenix. Harvick has been dominant there and he would be the pick no matter the situation, but with a win-or-no-title scenario at hand, Harvick’s got to be the selection. The deep sleeper underdog who you might or might not think about pick is Ryan Newman, who has two top-10 finishes, including a top 5, in the last five races there.